Last week, Midroll Media launched Howl Premium, a new on demand podcast subscription service featuring a ton of new podcasts as well as archives of other shows like WTF, Comedy Bang! Bang! and How Did This Get Made? Midroll is the parent company of the Earwolf and Wolfpop networks, so if you’re a fan of those networks’ podcasts, you’ll want to give Howl Premium a try. You can listen to Howl on the web at Howl.fm or with the Howl iOS app (Android users will need to wait for their version, but it is in the works). The subscription fee will be $4.99 a month, but you can try it for free for a month with a number of promo codes from Midroll podcasts like “CBB” or “spont”. Currently, Howl Premium includes 14 new shows from the likes of Lauren Lapkus, Jemaine Clement and The A.V. Club.
If you’re looking for a place to dive into the new Howl podcasts and you’re a fan of improvised comedy, you might check out Superego: Forgotten Classics, in which the podcast veteran team of Superego improvises their own versions of classic novels. The novels are well-known titles with which the guys from Superego are, at best, only vaguely familiar. All they know going into recording an episode is the book’s title, the list of character names, and the first and last lines of the story. Everything else is made up on the spot. They then follow up each improvised episode with a recap episode in which the real story is summarized and the team comments on how close they got. The first two novels covered in the show are Wuthering Heights and The Red Badge of Courage.
Howl Premium presents a trove of new (and slightly used) podcasts that could keep you consumed for weeks. But, there was plenty more going on in podcasting last week, so when you’re ready to take a break from the new podcasts available on Howl, here are some other highlights from last week.
The Thrilling Adventure Hour: After nine years of monthly live performances, The Thrilling Adventure Hour closed the curtains and with that, ended a long, successful podcast. Actually, the curtains literally closed a couple of months ago in Los Angeles, but the last regular recording of the live show was released last week ending the show where it all started with the finale of “Sparks Nevada, Marshal on Mars.”
The Friend Zone: Loud Speakers Network released a new show last week called The Friend Zone, featuring discussions between hosts Fran (of heyfranhey.com), Dustin Ross and Assanté. In the first episode released last Wednesday, the hosts discussed their plans for the show, promising to cover everything from pop culture to health and wellness, a subject on which Fran is the resident expert. Out of the gate, the group talked about maintaining mental health and finding balance in the midst of a storm of bad news and social media pressure.
The Dinner Party Download: Once a year, The Dinner Party Download gathers its “icebreakers” into one episode for an aural explosion of knock-knock jokes. For those who have not listened to The Dinner Party Download, the podcast covers arts and culture topics to help you prepare for your next dinner party, and each episode typically begins with an “icebreaker”–a joke told by a guest author, musician or other celebrity. Last week’s episode was all icebreakers, and included groaners from the likes of Mel Brooks, Abigail Spencer, David Duchovny and even Sesame Street’s Oscar the Grouch. Listen to the podcast and get ready to be either the most or least liked person at your next dinner party.
Humanature: This new podcast from Wyoming Public Media features stories about the intersection between humans and nature. The show kicked off last Wednesday with the release of two episodes, including the incredible story of Debbie Salamone, an environmental reporter and ballroom dancer who was attacked by a shark while swimming at a Florida beach in 2004. You’ll cringe as Salamone describes the attack, which left her foot mauled, and her slow escape to the shore and eventually the hospital. Salamone talked about how the attack shook her environmentalist beliefs, which only returned after she returned to the ocean. Now, Salamone is part of the Pew Charitable Trusts’ shark conservation initiative where she recruits other shark attack survivors to work for shark conservation. Wyoming Public Media will release new episodes of Humanature the third Wednesday of every month.
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